What a Week.............



Starring the Waterlilies

Quilt Show Week...
It has been a week.  Busy, busy, busy.  It is quilt show week, and quilt week means lots to do.  I will skip the beginning of the week, and go to today.  Kathy, picked me up this morning about noon.  We went to Jason's.  For those of you who don't live near a Jason's, oh what you are missing.  It is a deli and the food is oh so good.  There was six of us for lunch.  After lunch five us went to the quilt show and the other gal went to work (she went to the show in the morning).  As we walked in,  I had a quilt hanging just as you enter.  It is ever so exciting to win a ribbon.  I was blessed this quilt won three ribbons.  As you can see a blue (1st place) and 2 golds (2 judges choice).

The show was held at the Lake Charles Civic Center.  They had several vendors there selling mostly quilting supplies.  It is always fun to shop.  I did keep myself under control and except for a few pieces of batik only bought what I needed, really needed. 



Pina Coladas Under the Flowering Trees

 I had two other quilts entered in the show.  Each one placed.  Pina Coladas took a 2nd place ribbon and Logs on the Square took a 3rd place ribbon.  There are a lot of beautiful quilts at the show. 

Thank you Connie for taking these pictures. 

What's in a Name..........

Logs on the Square

I love naming quilts.  I usually start thinking about a name when I start the quilt.  Sometimes I am up to putting on the label before I have finally decided what to name it.  There are times that I just cannot find that right name.  When I made Waterlilies, I did not want to name it the pattern name.  Afterall that is the designers name and no quilt is exactly like the designer's quilt and her name should be her name.  I did change the quilt design but the quilt is based on the designer's pattern.  So with a lot of thought , and computer searching, I found that the Waterlilies were the sychronized swimming team that starred with Esther Williams in her movies.  I thought the points on the quilt looked like legs, so thus it is named Starring the Waterlilies. 

Logs on the Square is my own design and it was named when I was going through brochures for log cabins.  I wanted to name it something to do with a log cabin without saying log cabin.  In one of the brochures there was a cabin named with something on the square.  Ah, ha,  light bulb goes on - Logs on the Square.

It took me a long time to come up with Pina Coladas and again this quilt was my design.  I thought about the fact that the blocks were pineapple blocks.  There is birds and flowers in trees.  Think, think, think.....I needed a fancier word for pineapple, so thus, Pina Coladas Under the Flowering Trees. 

Hope you all had a great day............

Cabin Fever & Take 5 or is it 6 & a Flying Saucer

Cabin Fever..........

Cabin Fever - fabric

In my last posting, I mentioned that I had ordered the pattern Cabin Fever by Judy Niemeyer.  It came........  To do a 72x72 inch quilt you need 72 fat quarters.  I went to the garage, it is where I keep most of my stash and all of my batiks.  I started pawing through the batiks.  Not to repeat any of the fabric and to have a big enough piece, I came up with nearly all of my 72 pieces.  Tomorrow, I may go to QB, I have a class to attend, so will take my list and see what I can find to round out all the fabric I will need to make the quilt.
                                                                          
 Take 5 or maybe it is 6.........


Take 5 or maybe it is 6

 The girls I quilt with (Cackle & Stitch Sewing Circle),  found a pattern that they thought we should all make.  It calls for 5 fabrics.  The fabrics I wanted to use were in my stash (see I am serious about using my stash).  I have had the fabric a long time and I am sure that I could not find them if I went looking and really did not want to.  So,  I picked another color from my stash and I am using 2 fabrics for my number 5.  Also instead of making five different squares I am making 6. 

On the large squares I am embroidering (machine) quilt patterns.  I am using "request" batting.  Then I am trimming that batting up to the embroidery.  When I quilt it it will have a double layer of batting under the embroidery.  I think this will work.  I am sure it has been done before.  This is suppose to be a quick quilt.  Of course it would be quicker if I didn't embroider it.

Flying Saucer

I have had a flag pole in my yard for many years.  The flag is suppose to be lit at night.  I have tried several different ways to light it.  I have tried electric lights - the yardman ( not the one I have now) somehow managed to mess them up.  Then, I decided solar is the way to go.  The trouble with solar ( although they have gotten better) they just don't throw light to a far enough distance.  Not long ago, I found this light.  It is placed under the ball of the flag.  The top has solar panels on it and underneath is a lot of lights (I didn't count).  A friend's husband put it up for me yesterday.  It has to charge.  I am hopeing  tonight that it will have charged enough.  Doesn't it look like a flying saucer?????  Click on picture, the top of the flag should be easier to see. 

Hope all is well.

The Queen and Etc...........

Yethi - The Queen

Yethi........
This is Yethi.  She think she's a queen.  I went in to make my bed and here she is snoring away.  The picture of comfort.  She had a hair cut last week.  I had the groomer cut her short.  Her hair is a lot to take care of.  She is really a beautiful dog with or without hair. 

Quilting......
I have not worked on my nine-patch this week.  I am binding two quilts.  Both must be done.  One is for my brother.  It is his birthday present.  It is late.  The other quilt is being entered in a show in March.  I am quickly running out of time.  In a few days I will be back at it.  I am anxious to finish the nine-patch quilts, I think they will jazz up my bedroom for spring. 

Log Cabin

I was pawing through a magazine the other day.  I found an ad for this quilt.  It is a Judy Niemeyer design.  I love log cabin quilts and I thought - this is up my alley,  points and logs.  Somehow I must restrain myself from starting this quilt.  I already have a Judy Niemeyer on the design wall.  It is nearly finished, and will be soon.  So many quilts to make, not enough time.

Sulphur.........
Have you ever fought city hall?  I am finding that it is much like doing genealogy.  It is sort of a mystery.  It is hard to understand why they do the things they do.  I believe that probably the biggest reason they do stupid things is for votes.  Another good reason is they are just plain stupid. 

Why would any city in their right minds (speaking of the powers to be) give a drainage ditch to the land owners along the drainage ditch.  They gave it to them for their own use.  Now what would their use be?  For what purpose would they need a drainage ditch?  This ditch is used to take out the rain water from the area.  Those of you who are familiar with Louisiana know that when it rains, it pours, and it just doesn't pour a little bit.  Now, unfortuately, that ditch runs in the back of some property owners who do not take care of their own property so why would they take care of a drainage ditch.  When the drainage ditch has trash, dirt that moves in from other areas because of rain water, weeds grow, there is not room for rain water.   The neighborhood is dependant on that ditch taking the rain water out of the area and keeping their homes from flooding.  Now the neighborhood is dependant on people who will not take care of their own let alone a drainage ditch.   This ditch must be maintained.  I just cannot believe that these people are so stupid.   If you live in Sulphur, you best watch what city hall is doing. 

I hope you all have a good day. 

Nine Patch and Etc.........



Nine Patch

 Nine Patch
I am still working on my nine patch.  As you can see in the picture I have added a few blocks.  This is actually two quilts.  The one on the left is turned so that I could get it on the design wall.  This is the width it will be approximately without borders. 

Blog
When I type I do not get - WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET - It is often times fraustrating.  In the right column under the books and movies section, every time I change this I have a terrible time with the spacing.  I can change it and it is a mess and it takes several times to get it right.  At the moment it is not right because I am fraustrated.  Does anyone know how to fix this so I don't have to do it over and over again?

Downton Abbey
I have been watching the third season of Downton Abbey.  I bought the DVD.  I just did not want to try to catch it on TV.  I just knew I would miss an episode.  I also have the other two seasons and according to Masterpiece theatre we will have a 4th season.  I just can't imagine it ending.  It is so well done. 

Weather
Today, it is chilly, but the sun is shining.  We have had rain, rain, and more rain.  It is mighty wet.  We had alot of wind in the storms that went through.   I have lost a large bush in my front yard.  I need to find one to replace it that grows very fast.  I hate loosing any of the foliage in the front of the house.  It protects the house from the West sun.  Living here as you all know, because I complain a lot,  the summers can be a bear when it comes to hot weather. 

                                                                                    Genealogy

I wanted to show you this old car.  Isn't it terrific?  I wish we still had it in the family.  It probably went to a junk pile long ago. 

L to R..........Alice Hanson, my aunt - Alice Cline, my great grandmother - Maryetta Hanson, my grandmother - George Hanson, my father - Christopher Hanson, my grandfather.

My father told me when I found this picture in amongst other pictures, that his father had bought this car.  Christopher really didn't know much about driving.  He decided to take the family to Hawkeye Downs.  They were having a rodeo at the Downs.  This had to be about 1924.  The roads were not in very good shape, most of them not being paved.  It had rained which made the roads in even worse shape.  The car slid off the road unto its side in a ditch.  Christopher never drove the car again.  He gave it to my dad's brother, Fred.  Fred was about 19 years older than my dad. 




Aunt Alice Curl's 1924

  My Aunt Alice must have been younger than 16 (in the car picture).  Notice her long curls.  She always had beautiful hair.  It had to be shortly after this picture was taken she cut off her long curls.  In 1984, when they came to me they were in this very old cigar box tied with the original ribbon and on the lid it is written - Alice cut her hair March 12, 1924.

Notice the price of cigars.

Click on the pictures to make them larger.

Hope all is well with you.

Brunch Pizza and Nine Patch..............

Brunch Pizza

Two/three weeks ago, I found a recipe for Brunch Pizza.  Well, there is their way and then there is my way.  My way is faster and easier.  I am sure their way is really delicious, but my way is not too bad. 
Here is what I did...........

Mama Mary's Pizza Crust (4 oz)  
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (White Truffle)
1/2 pkg of seasoning blend
1/2 large baking potato, peeled and sliced      very thin - pat dry
1 tsp Himalayan Crystal Salt (fine)
2 large eggs beaten
1 tsp basil
1 cup Mexican 4 Cheese
Bacon - enough to cover top
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Wipe the pizza crust with olive oil on both sides.  Place in baking dish.



Brunch Pizza



To prepare the topping for the pizza heat the olive oil in a skillet.  Toss the seasoning blend with 1/2 tsp of the salt in the skillet.  Cook over low heat until the seasoning blend is tender. 

Toss the potatoes with 1/2 tsp of the salt and add the potatoes to the skillet, continue cooking on low heat until the potatoes are tender. 

Mix the beaten eggs and the basil with the blend-potato mixture and season with black pepper.  Cook on low heat until eggs are barely done. 

Spread the egg mixture over the surface of the pizza crust, then top with grated cheese.  Lay the bacon slices over the top with each slice touching, covering the entire pizza.

Bake at 450 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until the bacon is crispy and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Note:  Seasoning Blend - a combination of diced onions, green peppers, red peppers, celery and parsley)

Enjoy!!!!

Nine Patch

My last posting, I had just begun working on a nine-patch quilt.  I am a little further along but still have a ways to go to finish.  What you see here is two quilts.  One is for the bed (topper) and the other is going to be a wall quilt.  They look alike, almost.  One is positive and one is negative, although there is positive and negative in each quilt.   Confused????  I am using a technique where you make 2 blocks at once, one a positive and one a negative.  I use one in one quilt and the other in the other quilt.  The extra blocks at the bottom is for a row.  The white spots are letters on labels.  I am identifing sections of the quilt.  Come back, by next week, hopefully I will have this well on the way to being finished. 

And Etc...........

We have a very cloudy day.  It sprinkled about an hour ago.  It does look like rain.  The temps are good, it is 66 at the moment. 

Judy Niemeyer has a new quilt pattern out.  It is a Mariner's Compass.  I think I just did a Mariner's Compass. :-)   This one is different and gorgeous.  It is primarily a paper-piece pattern.  The question is do I really want to spend nearly $100 for a pattern?  I need to give this some thought.  It is also a project that will take me a long time to do.  I really have a lot of projects and a lot of fabric that I would like to use up and or finish.  Maybe this one will go on the back burner and I will think about it next year.  I think I have made a smart decision. 

Hope all is well with you..................

Positive and Negative...............and etc

Postitive and Negative

Positive and Negative
My birthday was this month.  Several of my quilting friends bought me fabric from the Three Sisters line Double Chocolat.  It is much too pretty to let lie in a box stacked on a shelf.  I also have fabric from the Chocolat (not misspelled) line.  And there is the fabric from other 3 Sisters fabric designs in my stash.  I decided that I would make toppers for my twin beds, one in positive and one in negative.  I am going to use the nine patch technique making a positive and a negative at the same time.   I have designed a quilt.  I actually designed this quilt when I had EQ6 - now I have EQ7.  It has been a long time ago.  I made several changes to the original, one thing making it smaller and added a little design element to it.  This does not show you much but come back next week and see how it is progressing. 

The quilt you see peeking through, I still have two blocks to make, then I will start putting it together.  This was my project when I went quilting with my friends.

Hall's
I am a "sort of" collector of Hall's teapots.  My sister has lots of them.  I primarily collect a certain pattern, but that pattern (crocus) is very hard to find.  Now and then I will find another teapot, usually when I am traveling and I will pick it up.  This is part of a built-in in my kitchen.  On the bottom shelf are two Hall's pots.  They are actually for coffee.  The middle jar is a pretzel jar.  The handles are pretzels.  The middle shelf are all Hall's teapots.  The black/white/red chickens are very old.  They belonged to a friend who lives in Idaho.  They were her mothers, she thought I would enjoy them, and I do.  On the top shelf are  blown glass chickens.  They were a gift from my brother and a one-person teapot (Hall's).   I also have bowls and a refrigerator dish and a salt shaker with the crocus pattern.  All of the pieces were bought in different cities except for two, they were bought in Cedar Rapids, IA.  On the shelf is a black, blue and yellow chicken.  My sister sent me that for my birthday.  She is so cute, her name is Henrietta. 

Weather 
A quick line about the weather.  I complained so about the rain and the cold.  We have had absolutely gorgeous weather for the last few days.  It is 8:30 p.m. and it is 57 degrees.  The temperatures have been hovering between 65 & 75 for the last few days.  I love it...........

Hope all is well on your end.

Where is the Sunshine and Sulphur, LA and a Little Bit of Quilting

Where is the sunshine?  Rain, rain go away, go away up north.  Up north, they need it.  As of January 15th we have had 11.02" of rain - normal is 2.63" of rain.  Our temperatures are cold.  Now I know it is not near as cold as it could be, but I live in the deep south, it should be a little warm, and it is cold and has been cold for days.  On January 15th it was 42/38 and normal is 61/42.  I like it cool enough to wear a sweater or a jacket.  Actually, I do not like hot weather.  I hate to complain about the cold.  I like to save my complaints for summer when it is miserable hot. 

hand dyes

Quilting.........  During the month of December, everybody and his dog was having quilting supply sales.  I found these wonderful hand dyes on the net.  The colors are super.  Now what do I do with them?  That will take some thought.

Hope all is well with you..............

"Moonbeam"

I lived in California about 3 months less than 30 years.  During that time we had a governor they called "moonbeam."  Now there was a reason they called him "moonbeam."  The good people of California, they must be all new and didn't know about "moonbeam" voted him back into office.  He has signed 876 new laws.  Tell me people in California, are you allowed to go to the bathroom by yourselves? 
And they wonder why people are leaving California in droves.  Do you think "moonbeam" has something to do with it?   I am sure that California is going to have a lot of new residents, I wonder where they will be from, but I bet they will vote their favorite governor back into office and "moonbeam" will have the opportunity to sign another 876 laws into existence.  Let's see what freedom are you going to lose next?  Do you care????

A Little History and a Book Review

Olive Filena Andrews b. 1833

Awhile back, I mentioned that I would now and then write about my genealogy and post some old pictures.  This lady is my great great grandmother.  She was Olive Filena Andrews Graham.  She was born in Ashtabula Co., OH in 1833.  She died at Jones Co., IA in 1888.  She was married Oct 1852 to James Thomas Graham.  She was the mother of 5 daughters and 3 sons.  One of her daughters had a very small write up in the Linesville, PA newspaper.  It said - Miss Hattie Graham of Linesville, has just finished a quilt called the "Old Maid's Patience" containing 10,080 pieces. 

Now if you think about it, they were lucky if their bed was a full sized bed.  Bed's were very small.  Those pieces in that quilt had to be very tiny.  I have tried to find a picture of an Old Maid's Patience quilt without luck.  I did find one somewhere along the line, but it could not be the same quilt.  The pieces were much too large for a quilt with these very small pieces.  If anyone finds one I would love to see it.

I made a quilt some time ago and named it "Hattie's Inspiration."  It has a lot of pieces but not near the number that Hattie put into her quilt.  You can find "Hattie's Inspiration" in the right column in the gallery section. 

A Book Review

Many of you are familiar with "Why Quilts Matter."  On their site they have a review of  the book "Quilts in Everyday Life 1855-1955  A 100-Year Photographic History by Janet E. Finley.  The review is very well done .  You can check it out on their site http://whyquiltsmatter.org/welcome/quilts-in-everyday-life-by-janet-finley/

Happy New Year

Happy New Year - I hope it is a terrific year for everyone. 

It is a very gloomy day in southwest Louisiana.  It has been raining, and raining, and raining.  We have flood warnings.  I hope that is not a bad sign.  To make things better and to bring some sunshine into my day, I bought a pair of shoes.  Now aren't these jazzy???  They should cheer anybody's day. 

I am still quilting on my quilt.   I have been dragging my feet.  Of course, I cannot just sit and do it.  My back just will not allow me to sit for long periods of time, and I wish I could use that for an excuse, I just have not got it done.  But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and I just might finish that up today. 

I want to show you what I have been working on the last several weeks.  As you all know I have returned to crocheting.   I am a creature of habit.  My tv is rarely on until about 8:00 at night.  At that time I sit down, turn on the tv and pick up the crocheting.  I crochet for about 2 hours and then I retire to bed.  It is a boring life and nothing much changes.  This is the yarn that I purchased in Anchorage, AK.  These pictures really don't do it justice.  It is by Ella Rae.  They put out the most gorgeous yarns.  I took these pictures close up so they are blurry but I wanted you to see the pattern.  I am not sure it shows as great as it really looks. 

The pattern stitch is very easy.  It is a row of single crochet, a row of double crochet , a row of single crochet and etc.  Instead of putting your needle into a loop you go under both loops.  It gives it that ridge.  This is folded in half and again in half.  I still have about 10 rows of each, single and double, to go to finish a rectangle.  This eventually will end up being a shrug.  That is my intentions.  I will show you when it is finished. 

George (sit down long arm sewing machine) is calling.  He is saying that I am never going to get this quilt finished unless I make an effort.   The explanation of George above is for those that don't know what/who George is (he is not my boy friend).  George is my buddy.  He does a super job and would do an even better job if this was my talent.  I think I could live to be a hundred and never ever be great at this.

My mother, she had a little saying for everything in life.  She would say "can't never did anything".  Think about that, that is a true statement.  She would also say "there is no such word as can't."   I have had that echo through my brain over and over again.  And she was very good at saying, "practice makes perfect."  I thank my mother today, for any talents that I do possess, for it was she who taught me and insisted that I do it right. 

Again,  Happy New Year.................

Minnesota Winter Chili - The Food of the Gods

I found a recipe in a magazine for Minnesota Winter Chili.  It is ever so good.  Since I live alone, I really don't cook alot but I thought that this is something that I can fix and it would  be good warmed up.  Of course since I don't cook a lot, I usually don't have all the ingredients in the house for any recipe.  I am not one to run to the grocery store.  I will check my cupboard to see what I can substitute.  I am going to give you "my" recipe. 

I started with a 4 qt pan.  When I was finished it was filled to about 1/4 inch from the top.  I started with the top ingredient and just kept adding.  You should cook it until at least the potatoes are done, but it could cook awhile longer to flavor it.  Cook it on a medium-low heat.  I covered it. 

2 TBS of olive oil
1 TBS of garlic salt
1 PKG of seasoning blend
1 can cut carrots
2 cups frozen little corn kernels
1 large potato diced
1 TSP ground cumin
2 TBS of Chili-O
2 TSP of sea salt
1/2  TSP of black pepper
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato puree
1 can of kidney beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can red beans, drained
1 can chicken broth
1 can 5.5 oz V-8 Juice

All cans should be approximately 16 oz unless noted.  If you have onions, celery, green and red pepper they can be cut and diced in place of the seasoning blend.   When it was ready to serve, I added shredded cheese and sour cream to the top of an individual bowl.        ENJOY!!!!

Before I close off, I want to talk about the little quilt in the picture.  It was made by Brenda Peavy.  I belonged ( no longer) to a quilting bee.  Just after Christmas we draw names for the following Christmas.  It works like a secret sister.  You never know who has your name until that Christmas when the bee exchanges gifts.  This was my gift this year.  The rooster, one of my treasures and one of the resident roosters in my kitchen occupies a prime spot on the table. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to one and all.  I hope you have a wonderful day no matter where you are. 

We are in for storms.  It will be wet, it is much too warm for snow.  If it was going to be snow we would definitely have a white Christmas.  Actually for some reason green just doesn't do it.  One day of snow would be nice. 

I don't do much decorating, one thing it is a lot of work.  I have two trees in my attic.  I can't get in the attic.  Last year I bought this little tree, it is cute and perfect for me.  It gives me a little of that Christmas spirit.  I had the reindeer in my closet.  He is precious to me.  I bought him many many years ago in a shop in Oceanside, CA.  The Dickens houses I have collected over many many years.  I scatter them here and there.   I rarely buy any any more.  One thing you have to store them.  I have a large glass cabinet I keep them in year round.  It is too difficult to put them back into their boxes and take them in and out.  This works..........
At one time, it would take me 3 days to decorate and then there was the putting away.  This I can do in about 20 minutes or so.  As most of you know, I do not have relatives here, so the decorating is for me. 

Merry Christmas

What Is On My Plate

It has been a busy December.  Yesterday, I mailed all of my packages for Christmas.  I have attended a couple of Christmas parties.  Fun was had by all.  I ate all the wrong things and my scale tells me so.  January is coming and I will worry about it then. 

I have a few things quilting related on the burner and a new quilt coming up.  George and I have been busy.  He is doing a fine job.  No broken threads, I am so very grateful.  The colorful tube in the picture is my cats tunnel and way down the room you can see Yethi and Jack laying in front of the door soaking up the sunlight.   

This is the pattern I am using.  Part of it is free motion and the rest I printed out on my printer and followed the lines.  I am doing each individual block.  The quilt is 64 blocks plus the borders.  It is big lap quilt measuring about 72x72. 





Hallelujah

 This quilt you have seen the blocks peaking through in pictures of other quilts for some time.  I still have 4 blocks to make.  I have redesigned this quilt several times and now think I might have it right.  The borders are really going to add to the design.  This is the Hallelujah quilt.  Don't you think the leaves look like they have their arms up singing?  Notice the half square triangle to the left (actually there are several stacked together), they are part of the outside border. Notice the different patterns that the blocks make when they are put together.   Comeback and see this quilt when I finish it up.

BOM

I was into QB a couple of weeks ago.  They had just completed the first month kit for a new BOM.  I looked at the pattern and fell in love.  It is going to be gorgeous and the colors they have chosen are terrific.  I don't usually do BOM quilts, but I thought possibly I could do this one and still do all of things that I have waiting in the wings.

I guess that is it for today.  I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a great New Year. 

Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955



Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955 by Janet E. Finley

 Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955
A 100 Year Photographic History

It is my pleasure to introduce you to the book, Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955.  This book is not the ordinary quilt book.  Inside, you are going to find fascinating pictures and stories of the people seen in those pictures.  You are going to find history of the quilts, clothing, time period, photographers, towns, and people.  Almost every picture (more than 325 images selected from the author's collection) has a quilt in it. 

Janet E. Finley, the author, is from Colorado.  She is a former Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden, Colorado.  Janet has been a member of the American Quilt Study Group for 12 years and is a past president of the Columbine Quilt Guild. 

I have a special interest in the book.  Janet and I became friends because of one of her pictures that appeared in a magazine (it is also in the book).  The picture had the photographer's name at the bottom, Kiddoo.  How many people are named Kiddoo (time period 1895)?  The bells went off in my head - Kiddoo!!!  I quickly checked my genealogy.  Louise Kiddoo, the photographer's sister married the brother of my third great grandmother.  This started a new friendship.  I told her about Kiddoo. So thus, from Kiddoo, I had the honor of doing much of the research about the people and places in her photos. 

My husband's great grandparents, Edmund and Cerelda Chambers, with her string quilt also appear in the book. 

Edmund and Cerelda Chambers

Quilts in Everyday Life, 1855-1955 is available through Schiffer Publishers.  Anyone who is interested in quilts, photography or history will enjoy this book.